Brothers
by White Reeses
Summary: Just a casual chat between two best friends in a bar. One-shot. Post-season 2. Contains movie scenes.


**BROTHERS**

by White Reeses

* * *

"One beer and one ashtray, please."

"I'll have scotch on the rocks."

"More than ten years of friendship and this is our first drink together? You sure have changed, Gino."

"Not really, trust me." Ginoza responded as he took the glass of scotch to his prosthetic hand. "Correction, this is our second drink together. The first one was when Sasayama treated us, remember?"

Kougami took a drag as soon as his ashtray was at place. As if remembering the pain he endured with those memories, he only sniggered in reply, and looked at his best friend with slight amusement. All of that was water under the bridge.

"You look better without glasses though."

Ginoza did not exhibit the slightest flinch. This comment was old news to him.

"So did everyone mentioned."

Kougami rose an eyebrow playfully.

"Bet you're not a virgin anymore."

Ginoza chocked.

Kougami sighed.

"Yeah, you haven't changed."

Ginoza cleared his throat. The magenta tint on his cheeks were definitely not from his drink.

"How is home after I left?"

The word 'home' sounded foreign in Kougami's words. Somehow he looked like an unfit piece in a jigsaw puzzle, or as Ginoza pondered.

"The game center we used to go out to hasturned into a soapland." Ginoza answered nonchalantly.

"You mean the one with the really hot mistress?" Kougami's opened his mouth agape. A lit cigarette dropped from his lips.

"Yes, that one."

"Shit, where did that chick go?"

"Hikari-san inherited her father's debt, thus she needed quick cash to repay them. Since game centers can only bring you so much profit, she changed it to a soapland where the revenue quadrupled." Ginoza explained briefly, "or so I heard."

"Wow," Kougami tried imagining the scene in his mind, "I bet she's the customers' favorite."

Ginoza cleared his throat.

"Actually, she's the pimp."

"What?"

"Well, she's not young anymore..."

Apart from this new piece of information, Kougami was apparently interested in something else. He eyed his best friend with deep curiosity.

"How did you know about this? Are you saying that you've been there?"

"No, I heard about it from Division Three. Apparently their inspectors have similar taste." Ginoza said matter-of-factly, "How would I be able to sneak into a soapland when all my inspectors are women?"

"Speak of the devil," Kougami leaned in, "How is the new inspector?"

Ginoza took a sip of his drink before answering.

"Precisely what you would expect from an ideal inspector based on the system's judgement."

"Like what? Like you?"

Ginoza coughed.

"Worse."

Kougami let out a hearty laugh.

"And how is Tsunemori?"

Ginoza paused. His lips curved into the shape of a half moon.

"Exactly as how you projected her."

The other man smiled in return.

"That's good then."

"Ironic isn't it? Somehow becoming society's trash have brought out the best of us." Ginoza pointed out.

"Or worse."

Ginoza knew Kougami directed the remark on himself.

"Gino, I…I actually don't want to see you become an enforcer." Kougami stuttered, "Well, actually Totsuan said that."

Ginoza did not respond. Talking with Kougami, he knew this topic would be inevitable. As much as he tried to avoid the subject, there was no escaping from this.

"I know it's not my place to talk for his sake, so…" Kougami heaved, "please forget what I said."

"Well, you were more of his son than I ever was." Ginoza replied. His voice showed no malice. A tinge of self-pity lingered.

"He taught me the ropes, after all." Kougami reminisced, "Do you know the real reason why he took me and other rookies under his wing, but not you?"

Ginoza smiled sadly.

"I assume because I was a douchebag."

Kougami sighed. He flashed his sapphire orbs on his partner with sudden seriousness.

"No, because he thought you didn't need it."

Ginoza returned Kougami's intent stare with profound interest.

"Inspector Ginoza had always been the model inspector. Trusted by Chief Kasei, envied by others. No inspector has closed cases as much as you did." Kougami elaborated.

Ginoza tried not to sound irritated. It sounded for like a mock instead of a praise.

"That's because other inspectors didn't last as long as I did. They were either transferred, resigned, demoted," Ginoza emphasized as he took a quick glance at Kougami , "or…killed, like Aoyanagi."

"What? Aoyanagi was killed? What happened?" Kougami gasped in shock.

The memory never sit well with Ginoza. Aoyanagi was the last of their year to last as an inspector, after all. Despite the sour taste it left in his mouth, he continued.

"She was held hostage where she was tortured to the point her crime coefficient went above 300. Her own enforcer mistook her for the culprit and shot her." Ginoza answered bitterly.

Kougami covered his mouth in disbelief.

"It was nobody's fault." Ginoza calmly assured. "I can't say I was calm either when that happened."

"Damn!" Kougami landed his fist on the bar tab. "Are inspectors supposed to end that way? Demoted or killed?"

Ginoza watched Kougami glowered. As much as he hated that a former comrade had fallen, Ginoza knew he was more raged from another factor.

Perhaps it was for the best that Kougami fled the country. As much as the system rejected him, it was nothing compared to his disgust towards it. Both of them knew the system was not perfect, yet that was where his and Ginoza's views separated. Kougami loathed the system for manipulation and violation of human rights, whereas Ginoza respected the system for its ability to maintain law and order.

Maybe that was why Ginoza was able to continue working as an enforcer with contentment. Ginoza realized Kougami knew him well enough to not question his stance. They did not need that debate of a conversation to be able to understand each other.

Before long, Kougami looked as if he wanted to shove the bartender to the wine cellar. Ginoza knew he had to distract him.

"Anyway, thank you for thinking highly of me." Ginoza broke the silence.

Kougami was immediately brought down to earth.

"That's the truth, Gino." he persisted.

Ginoza did not immediately reply. A part of him was still churning with sadness and regret. No matter how many years had it been since his father died, nothing could ever heal the pain that he felt. Even removing his other arm would never compare to what his psyche endured.

"Here you are praising my accomplishments while the reason why I achieved them all was because I always thought Oyaji had more faith in you than he ever did to me." Ginoza sighed.

"What? You're ridiculous." Kougami replied incredulously.

Ginoza nodded.

"When I found out he gave you the keys to the safe house, I went ballistic." Ginoza confessed.

"That's just common sense, Gino. If you were him, who would you rather do the dirty work? Your son or a stranger?"

Ginoza did not reply.

"No matter how brilliant he thought you were, you will always be a little boy in his eyes."

Ginoza paused. A sudden rush of emotions came through. He remembered it all. He remembered the pool of his father's blood he was bathed in. He remembered his inhumane cries that filled in the wake of Makishima's escape. He remembered the…apologetic look Kougami gave when he ran past them.

"How did you feel when he died, Kougami?" Ginoza felt his throat croaked.

Kougami paused before giving his answer.

"I was mortified."

"You didn't look like you were."

"I…" Kougami's words were lost. His eyes avoided his partner's. "I'm sorry, Gino, I truly am. I was too caught up by own actions. But I swear to you I went to his grave before I left the country."

"Yeah, I saw the keys you've placed on the cemetery."

"Gino, I'm sorry," Kougami turned to face his partner, "for everything."

"So am I, Kougami." Ginoza returned Kougami's gaze. "Sorry for failing to stop you."

Kougami's eyes grew wide in bewilderment.

"From time to time, I find myself wondering, will things turn out differently had I stopped you from pursuing Makishima? No, from getting into deep with the Specimen Case?" Ginoza rested his chin on his flesh hand. "I was your partner, Kougami. It should be my responsibility to keep your psycho-pass clear should things turn south."

Kougami snickered.

"They didn't teach that in the training centre, Gino."

"That's my personal code."

Kougami sighed.

"Gino, don't apologize for things that you can't control." He reminded. "I took that action by my own accord. It didn't have anything to do you."

Ginoza kept silent.

"Even fleeing the country was…my way of making peace with my conflicted feelings in the Makishima case."

It was as if Kougami was speaking Ginoza's thoughts aloud. They knew each other too well.

"Did you know that Chief Kasei ordered another division to dispose you when you fled?" Ginoza queried.

"Yeah."

"I asked her to transfer the assignment to Division One. She definitely saw through me."

"What are you implying?"

"She knew if Division One took the case, we wouldn't be able to kill you."

Kougami smirked.

"Yeah, you're right."

Ginoza rested his emerald eyes firmly on his partner.

"Kougami, I don't care what path you choose. I'll always have your back," Ginoza declared, "as you had mine."

Ginoza can vividly recall the times when Kougami heroically saved him from his unlucky days in high school. It felt so far away now. Who knew where fate would bring them in the days that gone by?

Kougami smiled amicably.

"I still have your back, Gino. Now and forever."

* * *

"Now and forever..."

Cold sweatdrops drenched the small of his pillow cover. Ginoza gasped for air as his eyes welcomed the morning sun.

He found himself on the edge of his double bed. Before he finished collecting his consciousness, Dime pounced to his aid. The Siberian husky licked him gleefully as a greeting. As he helped himself to sit, Ginoza looked at his surrounds. It was the familiar sight like any other morning. Exposed bricks on the wall. Archway-shaped windows. Stashes of vintage wine. No glass of scotch, bartender, nor Kougami in sight.

"I-It was a dream..."

His sweat poured together with the words he left unsaid. This was one of those dreams. The dreams where Ginoza thought of multiple scenarios of what would happen if they ran into each other. Ginoza felt sick to the stomach.

 _The next time we see each other...will there be a next time?_

* * *

 _*POW!*_

Kougami's right cheek met the concrete floor with unsurpressible momentum.

This was not the reunion Ginoza expected. Their next encounter was not in a bar, let alone in Japan. Their meeting was amidst the backdrop of a war-torn country. Far away from the center of the Sybil system and closer to the remains of prehistoric cities they had never seen before. It was even more odd that they met in a combat with a foreign cyborg. And just like that, they instinctively worked together to victory. Funny how partners function despite the long period of absence.

As Kougami sat and rubbed his cheeks, he gave Ginoza a smirk. He seemed amused.

"You held back."

"You'd rather I don't?"

Ginoza studied the face of the slumped man in front of him. His facial lines showed everything he already knew about him, as well as everything he did not. Kougami always had the streak of a wolf. He was never meant to be tamed. The wilderness had always been his kryptonite, something Ginoza never had a grasp on.

Ginoza already knew from the start that Kougami would one day leave this façade of a system. In fact, Ginoza knew from the back of his mind that the first symptom would be Kougami's demotion. And from thereon, every brick would build into the castle that was his escape. A wolf was never meant to live among a herd of dogs, after all.

Kougami knew Ginoza would understand this better than anyone. That was why there was never any goodbye letter to him. At least, that was what Ginoza wanted to think.

Nonetheless, Kougami deserved the punch.

"Leave, and never show your face in front of us ever again. Don't bring any more trouble to Tsunemori than you already have." Ginoza retorted before leaving him behind.

 _I'll always have your back, Kougami._

No more words were needed.

As he turned his back, a faint smile emerged. Ginoza can finally leave Shambala Float, and his best friend, in peace.

* * *

As Kougami escaped Shambala Float, he refused to look back. He did not need to, because he knew he was safe. His best friend made sure of it.

 _I'll always have your back, Gino._

* * *

 **A/N:** I always liked Kougami and Gino's friendship. They have this bond where their fists move faster than words :"


End file.
